Monday, November 11, 2013

Sorry for the delay in writing up last nights game, but this Veterans Day was a special one for me and took precedent over everything else. It started out with an early morning blood test and quickly escalated to a most enjoyable day. Actually, Veterans Day is usually not a specially enjoyable day because it brings back memories of all the conflicts and all the lost service men and women and the many disabilities that affect too many servicemen and women. And this year we have the tragic storm in the Philippines where I spent 22 months of my four year tour of duty.

But, there was much generosity in the US this year toward veterans. After the blood test we, my wife and I, went to Friendly's where I was treated to a free breakfast. After a long morning of shopping for the holidays it was off to Chilli's for a free lunch. Then some more shopping and then home. I did not have the stamina or the stomach to visit Applebees or the Golden Corral for a free dinner.

The Rangers won their sixth game in the last seven and moved one game over .500 and moved within four points of first place Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division. It wasn't a very crisp game but again, it was a win, 4-3 over the lowly Florida Panthers. Florida has only ten points and sits seventh in the Atlantic and 15th overall in the Eastern Conference.

So the Panthers are a bottom feeder and it wasn't too long ago that the Rangers were once a bottom feeder. But the makeup of the NHL says to me that there is going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows for a lot of teams. The goal scorers for the Rangers were Miller (1), Dorsett (2), Richards (6), and Zuccarello (2). But while Miller scored his first goal and played aggressively he was "awarded' only 2:06 in the third period. Benoit Pouliot was also sparsely played, as coach Vigneault takes up more of a micro manager type style.

The Panthers, led by D-man Campbell, scoring his first two goals of the season made the game closer than it should have been. But the Rangers seem to be playing to the level of their opponents and so far it seems to be working. Let's just hope that the coach don't revert to the style of his predecessor and start to over coach the team. The benching of Miller in the third was a surprise to me.ICINGS: The T/Birds were walloped by West Islip, 9-3, for their second loss of the season. They are now 5-2.

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The Ranger Pundit

I'm Mike Savino, the Ranger Pundit. I have been a NY Rangers fan since the 1937 - 1938 season. The first game I saw in person was in 1943 against the Blackhawks. My biggest disappointment was the '49-50 season and our loss to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.